Supernaturally Weird
by Kuroi Kinzu
Summary: Arthur is a veterinarian who comes across an extremely large and injured dog on his way home and rescues it but discovers that the dog has transformed into a man by the name of Alfred who claims to have been cursed by a dark faerie and he must now learn to live as a man, hopefully with Arthur's help and maybe find a way to break the curse.
1. Chapter 1

"Kiku, please make sure Mrs. Fitz's dog has enough fluids in her IV drip, God knows the poor think needs it." says a Golden blond Englishman to one of his staff as he moves about the clinic, cleaning up and checking on his other patients before he leaves.

"Hai, Arthur-san," replies the Japanese man in his usual polite manner as he goes to check on the poor dog, "also, we are running out of Immunol."

Arthur, their employer at this Veterinary clinic, merely nodded his head, "Right, have Maria order another batch then. Will you be alright here?" he looks up to address his fairly new employee.

Kiku gives a small bow of his head, "Do not worry Arthur-san, I can handle everything here. Maria -san already gave me plenty of advice before she retired for the evening."

Arthur smiles, "Alright then Kiku, you have my number right? Call in case of an emergency," he shrugs on his jacket and pack up his bag,"don't try to handle things on your own if you think you can't-oh! And make sure you have Maria's number on speed dial as well-are you sure you'll be alright?" Arthur couldn't help being concern for the Japanese man, it was his first time on night duty alone, it didn't help they were a bit understaffed as well.

The dark haired man merely smiled, a small upward tug of his lips, "Honestly Arthur-san, I will be fine. I will make sure to call if any problem arises."

Arthur nods his head as he makes his way out the door, then turns back again, "Are you sure-"

"Arthur!" Kiku cuts him off with an exasperated sigh, "Really. I will be fine. Thank you for your concern."

The Brit chuckles sheepishly, "Yes, yes, alright. I apologize for being a bit worried. Okay then, I trust you have everything handled. Have a good evening Kiku."

"You as well." And with a wave to each other, Arthur was out the door.

The Brit took one last peak in his clinic and after deeming everything to hi satisfaction, left for home.

* * *

Arthur sighed as he made the walk back to his apartment,which was conveniently near enough to his work place in case of any emergencies, he can't help being just a bit overly concerned. As talented as Kiku was, it was still his first night on duty in the clinic alone without Arthur or Maria, his assistant, to guide him. Convincing himself that the Asian man was fine, Arthur tried to relax and enjoy his nightly walk home through the late Spring night.

A few minutes of walking later found him through the usual wooded area nearing his residence. Arthur loved the forested areas nearby, it was one of the reasons he had chosen to live in Virginia and open up his own small Veterinary clinic after earning his degree. He does miss England, but he prefers it here, less rain to ruin a clear night like this one. He continued his walk on the paved path going pass the woods when he slowly noticed how everything seemed to have quieted down. Usually the forest here was teeming with small sounds of life, but now, not even a cricket could be heard and despite the wind having died down, Arthur felt chilled. He walked more briskly, quickening his pace in attempts to warm himself and get home faster. That's when he heard it.

At first the golden blond thought he misheard, but there it was agin. A low whine in the woods. It sounded like a dog and judging by the whines and small yelps, it sounded like it was in pain. Without another moment of hesitation, Arthur delved into the woods and began searching for the injured dog. It wasn't very far from the path when he found it, it was also lying on it's side whining and panting and-Good Lord! That's a lot of blood!

Arthur rushed to it's side and began checking it's vitals and it's wounds, he had to wince at the deep clawed marks covering it's body. It's really big body. He now just noticed, upon closer inspection, that this was by far the biggest dog he'd ever laid eyes on. But he put that out of his mind, he can check on the breed later, right now it needs help, but so did the young doctor, for he certainly can't carry the pitiful thing by himself.

"Alright then, it's been a while but an emergency is an emergency and my place is nearer than the clinic right now."

* * *

About a few hours later, Arthur had a gigantic sleeping dog on his couch, the drug should help it sleep and ease the pain. He made a thorough job of patching up the poor thing, cleaning, stitching and bandaging wounds and cuts and even found a sprained paw. The blond brit gathered up his equipment and began cleaning up, stretching as he did so earning a small pop from his back.

"Uhh..it's a bit late to prepare a proper dinner now," he mumbled to himself as he crossed the room to the hall, "re-heated leftovers will have to do, but first...a bath."

As Arthur exited out of the bathroom, he retrieved his phone from where he left it on the kitchen's extended counter connected to the living room and proceeded to make a call to Kiku. Two rings later, Kiku answered, "Hello, Arthur-san?"

"Yes, Kiku, just checking in with you. how are you doing?"

"I'm quite alright, most of our patients are asleep, other than Maria-san coming back for her purse, everything is fine."

"Well that's good to hear, but I do need to inform you that I might have to miss work tomorrow. I came across an injured dog on the way home, I've patched him up but with his injuries, I will need to observe him further. Can you and Maria take care of yourselves tomorrow?"

"Ah I see, it's no problem at all. I shall inform Maria-san in the morning. I hope the dog will be okay."

"Hopefully, thank you Kiku, and I apologize for the short notice."

"It's no trouble at all. Please get some rest Arthur-san."

"Yes, alright. Goodnight Kiku."

Arthur ended the call with a tired sigh, he placed his phone back on the counter, adjusted his robe and made for the door to change into his pajamas when he froze in his tracks. He whipped his head towards the sofa where his patient should be sleeping, but it was empty.

"Fuck!"

Arthur scrambled to the sofa in a rising panic, where the hell did that dog go?! It shouldn't be awake yet with the medication he had given it let alone able to walk off on it's own! Arthur gripped his hair, trying to calm himself down.

"Alright..Okay! It must be wandering the apartment somewhere. Right!"

The Brit dashed off looking for the large dog when he heard a scream come from the hall, and promptly went to investigate. He was half out the door to the hall when he crashed into something bigger and a lot less fluffy than a dog, causing him to collapse onto the floor on top off whatever he slammed into.

"Ugh.." Arthur uttered a pained groan and vaguely heard another voice groaning from under him, he stilled, then looked up at about the same time the complete stranger did and both locked eyes for a second...until Arthur screamed and tried to back away.

"W-WHO ARE YOU?! WHA-HOW THE BLOODY HELL DID YOU GET IN HERE?! WHERE IS MY DOG!? WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY DOG?!"

Arthur kept screaming as he stood and back up a few steps, while the stranger picked himself up, trying to get the little blond man to quiet down.

"Whoah! Stop! Stop screaming! just let me explain! Look I-"

And that's when Arthur noticed that the man was completely naked.

"WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU NAKED!?"

"WAI-NO! I- LEMME EXPLAIN A SEC!" The man took a few steps towards Arthur who inched himself away further until his back was to the wall.

"DON'T COME NEAR ME! JUST GIVE ME BACK MY DOG AND GO!"

"LOOK, I AM TRYING TO SAY, I'M-"

"I SAID DON'T COME OVER HERE! WHERE IS MY DOG?!"

"WILL YOU CALM DOWN!? LIKE I'M TRYING TO SAY! I'M-"

"GET THE FUCKING HELL AWAY YOU BLOODY TOSSER!"

"SHUDDUP!"

The stranger had a firm grip on Arthur's shoulders and had yelled loud enough to stun the Brit into silent shock. The stranger was panting and kept his gaze steady upon Arthur's eyes, who was frozen in place by the brightest blue eyes he had ever seen. The blue eyed man then slowly, slowly, released the brit's shoulders, held his hands up and backed away a bit.

"Please," the man spoke softly now, "I'm not here to hurt you or anything, I'm just as confused as you are, probably even more."

Arthur, now managing to calm his erratic heart, repeated his earlier questions but more quietly, "Who are you? How did you get in? And where is my dog?"

The blue-eyed stranger rubbed his neck and took a long breathy inhale, then looked Arthur dead in the eyes,

"I am your dog."

The young doctor's eyes widened.

"Well, I'm not really a dog, I'm a wolf. Look," the man pointed to his stitchings and various bandages, "you bandaged me up right here."

Arthur was gaping. The man sighed, exhausted.

"Look, I'll explain everything, just don't freak out on me anymore. Okay?"

Arthur simply nodded, then the man added, "Oh and can I have something to cover up with, it's kinda cold."

and the Brit was reminded of the man's nakedness and blushed to the tips of his ears but answered in a slightly strangled voice, "Yes. Of course."

The man grinned, "Great! Thanks! And by the way, my name's Alfred F. Jones! Nice to meet ya!"


	2. Chapter 2

Two blond men sat on the couch with two steaming cups of tea, both men were silent as they drank. Arthur was still nervous but the tea was helping to relax him and he eyed the now clothed stranger on the other end of the sofa. He was only wearing pajama bottoms, because everything else was too small on him and even this was a bit of a tight fit, Arthur stared from the corner of his eye and took note of the strang-Alfred's features. Wheat blond hair with a single strand sticking up, eyes as blue as the sky, tanned skin stretching across a toned chest and down chiseled a-No! Arthur turned his gaze away. What the hell am I doing eyeing a complete stranger?! One who's probably insane, saying he's the dog-wolf I had found, and why am I even allowing him to explain suck a ridiculous notion?! I should have kicked him right out!

But despite these thoughts, Arthur knew he couldn't just kick out an injured man, who just so happens to have the exact same injuries as the large dog-wolf that the Brit had treated.

Alfred watched the shorter blond go through several facial expressions in his musings and thought about how lucky he was to have this man find him and even treat his wounds, then again...if he really was lucky, he wouldn't have ended up in this situation at all. Alfred groaned, rubbing his now human hand over his temple, and then, "Hey."

Arthur was startled out of his thoughts and abruptly turned to the blond next to him.

"Ah! Y-yes?"

Now that he had the shorter man's attention, Alfred began, "First of all, thanks again for..you know, patching me up and all. I usually heal pretty fast but things got nasty real quick."

Curiosity piqued, Arthur asked, "What exactly happened anyway? And what's a wolf, if I'm choosing to believe you, doing so near the town?"

"Well I live deeper in the forest but I got into a fight with a Faerie and-"

"What the hell were you doing fighting a Faerie?!"

Alfred blinked, "-what?" but Arthur continued.

"Well no wonder you look like shite! Messing around with Faeries never ends well for anyone and looking at you now, you must have done a great job of pissing it off!"

Alfred's brows furrowed in confusion, "Wait. So you believe me? You know about Faeries?"

"Yes, of course I do." Crossing his arms as he spoke, "I happen to be friends with a few of them."

"Oh this is great! You believe!" Alfred was grinning in relief, "Now I don't have to explain about the whole hidden society of magical beings!"

Arthur processed this new information, "Secret socie-What?" the put on a defiant scowl,

"Just because I believe in Faeries and magic, does not mean I believe you to be a were-wolf! If you are, then change back into one now and prove it!"

"I can't."

"What do you mean you can't? You said you were a were-wolf so-"

"I never said I was a were-wolf. Those are different. For your information, I am a Dire Wolf."

"A what? What's the difference?" Arthur sat staring in confusion as Alfred tries to explain,

"Dire wolves are an ancient breed of wolves, we're faster, bigger, stronger and we have this extra sense that connects us with other members of our pack. There is nothing part human about us, unlike a were-wolf, and the only reason I'm like this now is because of that damn Faerie!"

Alfred stood from the sofa and began pacing as he recounted to Arthur what happened,

"I was just minding my own business, going on a hunt when this Faerie chick stepped out of the trees and started saying things like 'You will pay for what you've done-revenge-blah-blah-blah' I wasn't really paying attention-"

"Maybe that's what pissed her off." Arthur mumbled though the taller blond didn't notice.

"She had huge knives! And they were damn sharp! We fought hard enough to scare away the animals then next thing I know, she hit me with a spell. I must've blacked out for a sec but I certainly felt her knives slashing through my fur. I managed to take a bite out of her, enough for her to go down and not follow me as I ran. Not my best moment. Dire wolves have great pride and we don't like having to run from anything."

Arthur was silent as he listened to Alfred talk about his ordeal, he could catch a glimpse of frustrated shame on the other's face as he talked about having to run and felt a small bit of sympathy for the tall blond. Alfred stopped pacing and took a steadying breath and continued,

"Yeah, so I ran, I had to. I guess I passed out from the blood loss, because next thing I knew, I was waking up here covered in bandages."

Arthur looked at him with a curious thought, "Were you the one who screamed a while ago?"

Alfred coughed, "Uh, yeah. Sorry. When I woke up I felt weird. When I looked down, my fur was gone, my paws were different, I panicked and ran out and found a mirror. Freaked out a bit."

Arthur smirked, "A bit? It sounded like a girl."

The taller blond pouted, which Arthur vaguely thought was sort of cute, "Well wouldn't you freak out if you woke up looking different from what you are? I'm human! I've never been human before! It's not suppose to happen! Damn Faerie magic!"

"Point taken. What did it feel like?"

Alfred blinked at the Brit now sitting more casually on the sofa, "What do you mean?"

"I meant, what did her magic feel like? Was it soft and glowing or harsher?" Arthur wondered what kind of Faerie had the magic to do this, usually the fae merely play small pranks, but never anything this big.

The tall blond replied, his face unreadable, "It was heavy, it felt like one of her knives being skewered into my body."

Arthur sighed, "A dark Faerie. You said that she mentioned something about revenge, so now she's cursed you to live as a human. What are planning to do now?" The brit looked up at the blue eyed blond, who seemed a little lost and confused at the moment, it made a small tug on the Brit's heart.

"Well," Arthur stood up from his spot on the sofa, stretching as he did so, "for now you need some rest. So Sit back down before your wounds open up again." He then ushered Alfred back onto the couch, once seated, Arthur coughed, "I suppose..you can..stay. At least until we've got this figured out. And it would be safer for you as well-AH!"

Arms had wrapped themselves around Arthur and he was pulled flush against the other's bare chest causing his cheeks to flush.

"You'e the best! I have no idea how to thank you! Can't believe you're letting me stay! This is awesome! We're gonna be good friends!" Alfred pulled back from the hug, holding Arthur by the shoulders.

"Ah, yes. It's no trouble at all." replied the still dazed Brit.

Alfred grinned widely, then a thought occurred to him, "Hey!"

Arthur blinked, "What?"

"You haven't told me your name yet!"

"Oh!" Arthur stepped back from Alfred's hold, adjusted his robe then extended his hand out to the taller man with a small smile, "Arthur Kirkland, pleasure to meet you."

Alfred grinned and grasped Arthur's hand in his "Nice to meet ya Artie!"

The brit's smile fell away in an instant was replaced with a scowl, "It's Arthur. Not Artie. Now sit back down the sofa, you're still injured and I will not have you bleeding all over my furniture."

Their hands fell away and Alfred chuckled, "Alright, alright. Whatever you say doc." then sat down on the sofa, releasing an exhausted groan.

Arthur re-checked Alfred's wounds and re-dressed any bandages that have come loose. While Arthur worked on the bandages, Alfred watched the shorter blond with the avid curiosity of a wild animal encountering new.

"Hey Arthur." The blue eyed man called. Arthur looked up from his position near Alfred's shoulder where he was cleaning up spots of blood.

"Yes? What is it? Does it hurt?" Their eyes locked and for a moment, Alfred forgot to speak because, Damn! Suddenly all he could see was green! They looked rich and dark, deep like the forest of home. About a second passed by before Alfred regained himself enough to cough out,

"Uh, do you have anything to eat?" He smiled sheepishly, "I didn't really get to finish my hunt."

Arthur, who also got a bit caught up in those bright blue eyes, stuttered out, "O-oh! Right! Your hungry!" then briefly stood and headed towards the kitchen, "With all the excitement, I nearly forgot about dinner. I hope you don't mind leftovers, it's roast beef."

Alfred replied, "As long as it's food! And I love beef! Though i've never had one roasted before." He heard some rummaging in the kitchen and Arthur calling out, "I'll cook you a proper meal tomorrow, for now this will have to do."

A few minutes later, Arthur was setting the plates down on the coffee table. Usually he'd eat in the dining room just a few feet away, but he didn't want Alfred to get up and ruin the bandages again nor did he want to leave him to eat by himself, that would be just rude. He had also taken the time to change into his pajamas, no need for two of them to be partially nude.

Arthur handed Alfred his plate and was just about to give him a spoon and fork when he turned to see him scarfing down his dinner in huge bites.

"Oy! Stop that! Slow down before you bloody choke on something!" He tried grabbing the plate but then Alfred growled. Arthur retreated his hand and felt a tingle up his spine upon seeing the elongated canines protruding from Alfred's mouth. His eyes were also dilated and looked darker, and those eyes were now trained on Arthur.

"A-Alfred?" The brit visibly swallowed. Then, a blink later, Alfred's eyes were back to normal and he blushed a bit, looking quite sheepish.

"Heh, sorry 'bout that Artie. Instincts you know? But really, you should know better than to try and take away another's meal." He quirked an eyebrow at the Brit accompanied with a small smirk.

Arthur flushed, embarrassed at having almost forgotten that his guest was not entirely human.

"Right, sorry. I forgot. But still, your human now, so you should at least learn to eat like one. And don't call me 'Artie', it's Arthur you git!"

"Right, right... do you have anymore of this roast beef?" Alfred asked, completely ignoring the Brit's complaint.

Arthur scowled a bit but perked up at the request for more food. "You want..more? Did you like it?"

"I've never really had human food before, but I definitely like it better than anything i've had so far!" Alfred grinned, holding out his plate for seconds.

"Oh, uh...thank you. I'm glad you like it." Arthur felt slightly pleased at the compliment, "You can have some of mine."

"But that's yours. Aren't you hungry?" asked Alfred as he watched Arthur slide half of his dinner onto the other's plate.

"I'm quite alright, I don't usually eat any more than this actually."

"If your sure. More for me!" And the former wolf began scarfing down his second dinner.

"Idiot! I told to eat properly! You're getting food bits all over your face! Here! Use this to eat, i'm going to get something to wipe up this mess."

Arthur stood and went back into the kitchen, leaving Alfred trying to puzzle out the metallic sticks he gave him. Eat with this? How the heck do you even use this? Arthur came back to a puzzled looking Alfred and let out a short laugh at the ridiculous sight. Alfred looked up then made a pout, which Arthur was fastly attributing to the word 'cute', "Dude! How the heck do these things work?"

Arthur came to sit next to him on the sofa then took away the spoon and fork and proceeded to brush off the crumbs stuck to the other's face.

"I suppose I'll have to teach you a few things about being human." said the shorter blond with a small smile.

It was barely a smile, but it was there and Alfred caught how it made the Brit's face look softer, gentler, making his eyes shine a bit brighter.

"But that'll have to wait until tomorrow, it's getting late and you need to rest." Arthur stood up, empty plate on hand and proceeded to clean up and get the other a pillow and blankets.

Alfred thought, for the first time that night, maybe being human wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

A/N:

So! This is the first time I have attempted to write a fanfic for USUK. I had one of Jelsa a while back but I accidentally deleted it (which was a blessing coz it was total crap when I think about it.) And a heads up for the future appearances of other characters and side pairings!

Also, I totally believe in Faeries. No joke. I live in the Philippines and weird shit happens here often enough to make me believe. I will probably update weekly, hopefully, coz I really need to get this story out. SO. Enjoy and leave some reviews!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hello! it took me a while to write this and i hope it turned out okay. And how bout that...it's exactly 7 days since my last post! Hope I can keep updating once a week. :) Enjoy!

* * *

Morning came shining through the blinds, the light hitting Arthur in the face and making the brit squirm beneath the covers. Arthur opened his bleary eyes, lying still as he recounted the events of last night.

God...if that was all a dream then I need to stop mixing fillings in my scones. A crash sounded in the kitchen followed by the sound of glass breaking which Arthur's brain decided was enough proof that last night he DID rescue a faerie cursed wolf. It sounded weird even in his own head. Arthur rushed off the covers, opened his bedroom door and ran to the kitchen, slipping on a pair of slippers on the way and was greeted with the sight of Alfred surrounded by pots, pans and broken glass.

"What the devil happened?!"

Alfred turned to see Arthur staring from the doorway then grinned.

"Mornin' Artie! I was looking for breakfast but I might've cleaned you out last night."

Arthur hurried to Alfred, carefully avoiding any broken glass debris,

"You idiot! I told you to rest, now your cut and bleeding again! Come on!" The brit proceeded to drag Alfred away from the messy kitchen and back onto the couch. Alfred notice with curious amusement how Arthur didn't correct his name, more concerned with his new cut.

"Relax, I'm fine! Seriously it's just a small cut and I'm mostly healed up already. It's why I got hungry."

Sitting on the couch, Arthur unwrapped the bandages and began examining the mostly healed wounds with amazement.

"T-this is remarkable! You're almost good as new!" Arthur checked his ankle, "Even your sprain is gone!"

"I did tell you that I heal fast." laughed Alfred.

Then he grabbed Alfred's hand and inspected the new cut, but it had already closed. Arthur stared in wonder and then, a thought struck him.

"Alfred..."

Alfred stopped laughing at the tone of Arthur's voice, "Yeah?"

"You're human now, yet you've retained your healing capabilities."

A curious look crossed Alfred's face then he suddenly perked up, looking at Arthur.

"You mean the spell is temporary?"

"I don't know, probably not since it's a curse but you still heal incredibly fast, then there was last night when you growled at me for trying to make you eat properly-"

"Instincts dude."

"-yes, but if so, then maybe the curse only affected you so much. Internally you're still a wolf, it's just your outer appearance that's human."

Alfred looks excited now, and Arthur could almost imagine a tail wagging back and forth.

"This is great! And now that you mention it, I can still smell and hear things pretty well, not as sharp as when I was a wolf but still clear enough for me to know it's working."

Arthur smiled, amused when Alfred started sniffing around the air, "Well this is good news, at least there's a chance for you to-H-hey!"

Alfred had gotten closer to him and appeared to be sniffing the air around him. Arthur backed up but was caught between the arm rest and Alfred leaned even closer, now nosing his hair.

"A-Alfred?! W-what are you doing?"

"I'm testing out my sense of smell and you smell really good," he said in an almost husky voice, "you smell like.." and he nosed into the side of Arthur's face, causing him to make a small gasp, then traveling down to the curve of his neck, inhaling his scent and making Arthur shiver, "something sweet...and minty..."

Arthur was completely still, his heart beat increasing, making him nervous and hoping Alfred couldn't hear it. Then, seeming satisfied, Alfred leaned back, blinking away the dilation in his eyes and grinned at Arthur.

"Heh, sorry, you just smelled really good. I just caught your scent and couldn't resist, but now that I have it, I can always find you!"

"R-right." said Arthur in a slightly strangled voice before he swallowed and tried regaining some composure, willing his blush to subside

"well, it's good to know you still have all your animal senses."

The brit stood up, still a bit shaky, "It's still early, I can make a quick stop at the nearby grocer and whip us up some breakfast, but first, I have to clean up that mess you made."

Alfred stood with him, "I'll help!" and followed Arthur to the kitchen.

After tidying up in the kitchen, Arthur convinced Alfred to take a bath while he was gone and showed him how to work the knobs, pointing to the soap and shampoo and instructing him how to use them. He drew the bath and told Alfred to just relax and get cleaned up and he'll be back with food and some clothes in a little while. Arthur dressed, grabbed his wallet, some bio bags then headed out of his apartment, down the stairs and out the lobby door.

* * *

The grocer was just around the corner and Arthur hurried inside to get his shopping done, not wanting to leave Alfred alone too long. He wasn't worried, just concerned that the git might break something else, yeah. He grabbed eggs, some bacon, ham, sausages, some vegetables, a bit of everything actually since he didn't know what Alfred wanted to eat, though he didn't seem picky over dinner last night. He grabbed his usual box of tea, paid for everything at the cashier and briskly made his way out, all that in about 10 minutes. He walked a bit more to the thrift shop nearby, balancing his groceries on each hand. He left the bags at the counter with a kindly old woman who smiled in greeting and began perusing through racks upon racks of clothes. Arthur realized belatedly that he should have gotten Alfred's size, how was he suppose to buy him pants? Arthur sighed, he supposed that he could just buy a pair of stretchy sweat pants for now. He grabbed shorts, shirts, pants, some boxers (no he wasn't blushing), a pair of sneakers slightly bigger than his own size and a sweater, though with the weather getting colder, Alfred would need a coat. But the store didn't seem to have a proper sized coat so Arthur headed to the counter with what he had and was about to pay for them when he saw it. It was tucked into the corner of a rack, Arthur went and pulled it out. It was a brown leather jacket with a black fur trim around the collar and based on the design, it looked like an old bomber jacket from the mid 40's. It wasn't a coat but Arthur liked it and it looked like it would fit Alfred, so he put it with the rest of his purchases, paid for them and made his way home. He took a bit too long at the thrift shop but hopefully Alfred behaved himself.

Another few minutes later, Arthur was opening the door to his apartment and surveying any damage. He entered and set his bags down then was startled to hear Alfred call from the bathroom, "Arthur? That you?"

"Yes, I just got back" Arthur replied, "Sorry I took so long, how was your bath? Are you done?" he closed the door and picked up the bags, dropping off the food on the kitchen counter and made his way to the bathroom. He was about to knock when the door opened and there stood Alfred. Naked. Again.

"That felt great!" Alfred grinned seeing Arthur, "I feel all squeaky clean now!"

Arthur felt the heat rising in his cheeks as he sputtered, "Y-You! At least put on a towel! Here-" he then shoved some clothes into Alfred's arms, carefully averting his eyes, "put these on."

Alfred stared surprise then in confusion at the bundle of clothes in his arms, "How do I put these on? Why do I need so many?"

Arthur pointed to various clothing with instructions, still blushing and still not looking in Alfred's direction. "You put your legs through these, this one first then this one, then you wear that over your head with your arms through these. You need extra clothes for warmth. Now get dressed while I make us some breakfast."

And before Alfred could ask anymore questions, Arthur was gone.

Arthur decided to make a classic English breakfast with toast, eggs, beans and sausages, piling everything into two plates on the table and proceeded to brew some tea. Alfred came in dressed in sweat pants and a simple shirt and sat down on the table,

"Hey Artie, what kind of food is this?" eyeing the slightly burnt toast and clumps of egg warily.

"It's Arthur damn it, not Artie!" Arthur turned towards the table and sat down with two mugs of tea, pushing Alfred's beakfast in front of him, "This is a classic english breakfast, that's egg, this is toast and the beans and sausages are meat." then handed Alfred a spoon and a fork "Dig in, and use the silverware this time."

Arthur began to eat while Alfred watched how he used the spoon and fork to cut up the food into pieces and scoop them into his mouth. Alfred repeated the motion, it was hard but it wasn't so bad. There was a question that had been nagging at the back of Alfred's head so he stopped eating and asked Arthur, "Hey, I was wondering...how did you get me into your apartment?"

Arthur paused with a spoonful of beans mid-air, Alfred continued, "I mean, how'd you do it? I was pretty large as a wolf, not to mention heavy."

"Oh yes, I suppose an explanation is necessary." Arthur put down the spoon, "I actually asked help from some of my faerie friends. They cast a glamour on you so people wouldn't see and with a bit of magic, they had you floating up and towards the elevator. Good thing no one else was using it at the time."

Alfred stared in disbelief, "Your friends with faeries? You asked them for help? What was the deal?"

"What?" Arthur blinked. Alfred continued on, "You asked for their help, they must have required something in return? Faeries don't just give out freebies!"

Alfred was starting to worry, even the friendliest of faeries can be a nuisance and he didn't want Arthur to suffer for that in saving him but then Arthur laughed. Alfred was surprised, why was Arthur laughing? It sounds nice.

"Alfred, it's alright. I've bee friends with these faeries since I was a child. I let them stay in my home anytime, I also leave them little treats and they've helped me before. I assure you that it is a genuine friendship."

"Oh," Alfred stared in small admiration, "Okay then. Just wanted to be sure you didn't get sucked into a bad deal. Ya never know with faeries sometimes." Arthur is friends, ACTUALLY FRIENDS with a bunch of faeries?! How'd that even happen? Just who is this guy?

Arthur chuckled, "Yes, they can be mischievous at times. Now finish up your breakfast, we have a long day ahead of us."

"Why? Where are we going?" Alfred perked up at the chance of going out as a human, not bothering to hide his excitement. Arthur just dug into his breakfast calmly, "Well we need to get you more clothes, proper ones in your size and I think it would be a good idea to integrate you into society now, so you can get used to being human and learn how we do things."

"Can we get more food too?" said Alfred as he looked at Arthur with shining eyes, looking like a human version of a puppy.

"Yes, as soon as you're done there." Having that puppy like expression aimed at him made Arthur want to pinch the other's cheeks. He probably doesn't even know how adorable he looks.

"Alright then, I really like your food better than what I usually eat! It's delicious!" Then Alfred wolfed down the rest of his breakfast, excited for the day ahead while Arthur is again trying to will down the redness from his cheeks, wondering what is causing him to blush so much.

* * *

A/N: I surprised myself when Alfred's jacket appeared in that thrift shop, didn't really plan that. And a side note on Faerie Lore, it's a common theme in stories that Faeries don't do stuff for free and usually when they ask for something, it leaves the human at the bad end of the deal. Usually when a Faerie likes you, it's not a good thing, you're like it's next toy. It's why Alfred was worried.

Until next time honeys!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: First of all I am so sorry for missing what I had hoped to be was my regular update day! I got caught up with work and various project ideas. Oh! Someone commissioned me to do a historical painting on the 1763 Treaty of Paris, so I went full hetalia on it with England, France and Spain carrying little Philippines. Wish I could show you guys a picture, it was awesome! I managed to paint it in 2 days! Alright...on with the story! i think this came out longer than the last one. Enjoy!

* * *

Before they had left that morning, Arthur had given Alfred the jacket. Needless to say, Alfred was ecstatic about it, saying how the fur trims remind him of his own and hugged Arthur as a thank you for good measure. Arthur was glad that the wolf seemed to love it so much and he remembered thinking how it was going to be a good day. He wasn't exactly wrong.

It had been a tiring and eventful day. They managed to buy enough proper clothes for Alfred who had then worn a pair of jeans, a simple shirt and the jacket Arthur gave him for most of the day, despite it being early autumn already. Arthur supposed he must still be regulating a wolf's natural body heat. Alfred had dragged Arthur to every little thing that caught his eye, most of them food stalls and though Arthur politely declined anymore food, Alfred enjoyed tasting and wolfing down(no pun intended) everything he happened to like.

Arthur groaned when he remembered the candy shop. He learned what happens when a hyper active were-wolf(sort of) gets a sugar rush. Alfred kept asking a lot of questions and couldn't keep still for even a moment, i he did, he'd start twitching. And Arthur couldn't help but panic when he saw Alfred eating that chocolate bar! He spent the next hour fretting over Alfred and observing him for any signs of poisoning. But it seemed that with Alfred's new human body, he can safely eat almost anything, though that didn't stop Arthur from worrying. Alfred made a concerned face when Arthur told him that chocolate was essentially poison to most animals, especially to canines and stated that it would be horrible if didn't get to eat something so sweet and tasty again. Arthur's attention was then diverted when Alfred had dragged him off to a park and started running around like the sugar crazed animal he currently was. Arthur hoped it would drain him but had to intervene when he spotted Alfred freaking out another person by having a growling match with their dog. Alfred managed to scare off majority of the pets and their owners in the area before Arthur led him away. Something about defending their territory as Alfred muttered out.

It had been an exhausting day indeed but Arthur did discover many things about Alfred as well. They found out that Alfred had retained his unnatural strength when he had walked into a light pole and made a dent on it, and he didn't even have a concussion. They also had a late lunch and Arthur had Alfred pick out a place. Alfred used his nose and followed a delicious scent to a place that had large double yellow arches over the door way. Arthur was dismayed to see he had picked out McDonalds but it was his choice and in they went. It soon became apparent that Alfred loved the burgers and the fries and the fizzy drinks. He said so as much, or as much as he was able too with a mouth full of heart burn. All in all, Alfred had eaten three Big Macs with large fries and 4 shakes. Arthur just stared in both amazement and slight disgust while he himself was only halfway through his own small burger.

It had been a long day as Arthur recalled each little mishap, easing his way further down the bath tub. They had gotten home at nearly dinner time and Arthur hadn't felt like cooking, so he ordered some Chinese food. After stowing away some of their purchases, Arthur showed Alfred the wonders of technology. He showed him how to operate the TV with the remote, how to use the DVD player and watch movies and he showed Alfred his laptop and taught him as much as he knew on browsing the web and googling. He figured the internet was the fastest way for Alfred to get information on various things and he hoped it would keep him distracted long enough for Arthur to have a relaxing bath and unwind. He had left an exact amount of money for the delivery and instructed Alfred to pay the man who brought the food then he left Alfred to his devices and enjoyed his much needed bubble bath. That was about an hour ago and Arthur wonders if he should cut his bath short to see how Alfred is doing, but...no. Alfred can be trusted to himself for a while. Just until the food arrives. yeah. Arthur closed his eyes, just for a minute, and took a short nap.

The Brit woke up a couple of minuets later to Alfred knocking on his bathroom door. Good thing he locked it, lest there be another embarrassing incident which Arthur doesn't think he'd survive.

"Hey, Arthur? Food's here! Let's eat!"

"Alright, I'll be out in tick." Arthur called back then eased himself out of the tub. He toweled off and put on his pajamas and robe, drained the tub then made his way to the kitchen. He was glad there was no mess this time and Alfred had even gotten out the plates, he was learning fast. After they've had dinner and washed up, Alfred insisted on watching a movie and had picked one out at random. Arthur discovered another thing about Alfred that night. He was almost hilariously afraid of things that go bump in the night. He say's 'almost' because he was busy being squished in Alfred's hold. Alfred had picked out a horror movie and when the first ghost scene came on he had grabbed onto Arthur with a scream and had refused to let go. So now, Arthur had to endure the death grip around his body and he also had his arms pinned to his sides, making him unable to defend his ears against Alfred's screaming. Two agonizing hours later, Arthur felt the arms wrapped around him loosen, allowing him to move away and get his blood to start circulating again. He felt pins and needles all up his arm and turned to scowl at Alfred.

"Did you have to grab so hard?" said Arthur as he rubbed some feeling back into his arms, "I didn't think the movie was that scary."

"Are you kidding me?! That was horrifying!"

"You're a Dire wolf! You grew up in the supernatural world, so why would you be scared of it?"

"Dude, the fact that stuff like this is real is what makes it scary. Can you honestly tell me you won't freak out when you suddenly wake up next to a dead girl?"

Arthur thought for a moment, and he had to admit that the other had a point.

"Right...no, I suppose not. But i wished you didn't yell next to my ear. I wouldn't be surprised if I've bloody gone deaf."

Alfred winced, "Sorry 'bout that."

"It's fine, but it is getting late." Arthur got up and went to remove the DVD. "I still have work tomorrow, we should turn in for the night."

"But I'm not sleepy yet." Honestly, Alfred feels he might not be able to sleep at all. "How long are you going to be at work tomorrow?"

"I should be home by 6, since Maria will be handling the night shift tomorrow. Please try to behave while I'm gone."

Arthur looked at the now pouting wolf and could imagine a pair of drooping ears to go with it, he tried to resist patting him on the head.

"You make it sound like I'm nothing but trouble." Alfred continued pouting when he thought about how long he'd have t wait for Arthur to get home, it's gonna be so boring.

Arthur sighed, "I don't mean it that way, but you are still new to being human and I'm just worried you'll get hurt and I'm not there to make sure your alright."

Alfred smiled brightly at that, "I'll be fine Artie! You don't gotta worry 'bout a thing!"

"For the Nth time, it's Ar-thur! And it's 'you don't _have_ to worry _about_ anything', really, your grammar is atrocious."

Alfred just laughed him off and helped Arthur set up the couch for him to sleep on again. Arthur didn't really have a guest room, Alfred's just lucky that the couch is big enough to accommodate him. Arthur bid him goodnight and entered his own room, leaving Alfred wide awake in the darkness of the living room, jumping at every sound.

Some time later, Alfred couldn't take it anymore and went in to Arthur's room to see if the brit was awake and if he'd let Alfred stay with him for tonight. Alfred spotted the brit curled up on one side of the bed, lightly snoring. Alfred smiled at how cute he looked, all peaceful like that instead of the little fire cracker he was while awake. Alfred eyed the floor, it didn't look too confortable, then he eyed the bed, there was enough room for him to squeeze in next to Arthur without waking him. So Alfred slowly made his way to the other side of the bed and gently crawled under the covers, the bed was barely big enough for two people, but its cozy. Alfred could feel himself getting sleepier, calmed by he scent of Arthur lying next to him. He breathed in the smelled of the brit one last time before finally falling asleep.

* * *

The nest morning, Arthur slowly woke from the best sleep he had had in a while. He felt a comfortable heat around him and considering it was autumn, the temperature was making him sleepy again. But he had work and roused himself to open his eyes and sit up but found that something heavy was lying across his chest. Then he felt a breath near his neck and Arthur froze. He slowly turned to his right and saw that Alfred was fast asleep and had his arms draped loosely on top of him. Arthur felt his cheeks start to heat up as his mind raced, what was Alfred doing in his bed?! Arthur tried moving out from under the other's arm as carefully as he could so as not to wake the still sleeping blonde but Alfred must have sensed movement because Arthur yelped as he felt the arms tighten around him. He was then pulled into Alfred's chest and felt him nuzzling his hair sleepily while mumbling out,

"..mh...Ar..tie..don't go...ghost...gotta..protect...nh...not scared..".

Arthur could barely move being pressed so close to the other, but he managed to tilt his head up and see Alfred mumbling with a crease on his forehead. Still blushing slightly, Arthur managed to reach up with a hand and stroke the other's hair.

"Silly thing," Arthur whispered with faint amusement, "did that movie last night scare you that much?"

The brit watched as Alfred's face slowly relaxed and then suddenly his eyes flew open.

Alfred felt really comfortable. He had something soft around his arms and it smelled really good too. He got a bit upset at first when he felt it moving away but then he caught it and he soon felt soft fingers running through his hair. He wanted to sleep more but he also wanted to see what was making that nice smell, so he opened his eyes. At first he thought he was back in the deeper parts of the forests because all he saw was green, endless greens like a patch of sun warmed grass. He blinked, then he saw that he had Arthur around his arms and, what was that smell? Oh! He nuzzled the brit's hair. Right, the minty sweet smell was coming from Arthur.

When Alfred's eyes flew open, Arthur was momentarily paralyzed both in embarrassment and awe at the blueness of those eyes. Then he was just feeling embarrassed when he felt Alfred shift closer and continued to nuzzled his hair. He jolted in small alarm when the nuzzling travelled down to his face.

"A-Alfred...nh..stop. That tickles." Arthur was squirming now, but Alfred kept a good hold of the smaller man.

"But you smell really nice and I'm comfy and warm."

"W-well..ah, thank you. You can sleep more if you want but I need to get ready for work-EEP!"

Alfred had pulled him in closer and was now fully utilizing him as a makeshift teddy bear along with the nuzzling that had made it's way onto Arthur's neck.

"Do you have to go? I'm gonna be bored." Alfred whined sleepily, "Stay."

"Uh!..Nh..Alfred...I can't! Ah!" Arthur made little gasping sounds every time Alfred nuzzled his neck too hard. This has to stop! This is not good! "Alfred...nnh...stop that, I can't think. If you don't...eek!..stop! I won't make you breakfast!"

Alfred stop his nuzzling then looked at Arthur, who was looking a little flustered with pinked cheeks.

Alfred pouted, "You don't mean that right? I just really want you to stay!"

Arthur felt himself soften to mush at that expression but steeled himself to say, "I do mean it. Because if you don't let go this instant, then I won't have the time to get ready AND make us breakfast too."

Alfred let go and they both slid of the bed, but seeing the still pouting wolf, Arthur softened his tone.

"I promise when I get back we can do whatever you want alright?"

Alfred perked up a little, "Really?", but then went a bit sullen again, "But I'll still be bored the rest of the day."

The Brit sighed as he ushered Alfred out of the room so he could get changed, "You know, you can go out if you want. Now, go wait outside and set the plates while I changed. Now Shoo."

Breakfast was burnt eggs on buttered toast for Arthur and the same for Alfred, along with a stack of pancakes. Arthur drunk tea while Alfred had coffe. They had bought some on the way home after Alfred had insisted, having now acquired the taste after that first drink. Pretty soon it was time for Arthur to get going.

"I better go now before I;m late." Arthur stood from his chair and headed to the hall for his coat as Alfred followed behind.

"Can you wash the plates? You remember how to them right?" Asked Arthur as he glanced at Alfred while he put on his shoes.

"Yeah I remember." Alfred replied, still feeling dissapointed that the other had to leave. Sensing the other's sour mood, Arthur made a last attempt to lighten him up.

"I promise I'll be home on time. While I'm gone I need you to do something for me." Arthur figured that giving the Alfred some sort of objective would keep him busy enough not to feel upset.

Alfred quirked an eyebrow, "What is it?"

"Remember when I told you that I have Faerie friends? Well, I need you to leave them a bowl of honeyed milk by the window. Make sure it's open. If they happen to fly in, could you entertain them?"

"No problem." said Alfred, though he felt a bit put off by the menial job. "Another thing," continued Arthur,

"I'm giving you a daily human exercise." Alfred listen with curiosity now as Arthur continued to explain.

"Each day, I'm going to give you something to do that will help you get used to being human faster and understand how to be one. For today, I want you to read a book."

Alfred stared in confusion, "Reading?"

"Yes, you can pick out any book from the shelf." then Arthur had a concerned thought "You can read right?"

Alfred scratch his ear, "Yeah I can, just not enough to particularly enjoy it. Never really had to use the human language before."

"Well then, consider this practice." said Arthur with a satisfied smile as he opened his door.

Just before he left, he handed Alfred a key, "This is an extra copy of my apartment key. You can come and go as you please, just remember to lock the door and don't lose it. Other wise you won't be able to get back in here. Another thing, since you already know how to google, try researching about your curse and how we can go about breaking it. Well then," Arthur turned to Alfred, "I'll see you later." then closed the door and headed out.

* * *

Alfred spent his time in the apartment idly, he already set out the Faerie snack, he tried to read a book and made it to about 3 chapter before he got a headache, and his attempt to research about breaking curses ended up a bust. None of the google results just seemed to make sense to him, so now Alfred is watching TV while eating his lunch, a large hero sandwich that he learned to make from watching a cooking show. He was bored, bored, bored. Maybe he should go out? Arthur did say he could. So Alfred turned off the TV, got his jacket and the extra key Arthur left for him and made his way out the door, making sure to lock it behind him.

Arthur had arrived at the clinic just in time to relieve Kiku of his post, the small japanese man certainly looked tired but when Arthur suggested he go home, Kiku refused so Arthur told him to at least take a nap in the spare room upstairs. While Kku rested, Arthur busied himself with prescriptions for pet owners and their furry little babies. Maria, Arthur's other assistant was quite the animal charmer and the brit was glad to have her around to soothe the tense creatures. By lunch, they were given time to take a break and Kiku emerged from his nap looking better.

"Are you sure you don't want to go home Kiku? You did spend all night and day here yesterday." asked Arthur, but Kiku merely shook his head and with a tired smile replied, "I'm fine Arthur-san. I prefer to be here."

"Well if you're sure.." then Kiku cut in. "How is the dog?"

"The what?"

"The dog you picked up the other night? You said it was injured."

"O-oh! Yes, it's still recovering so it's staying with me for a while yet." Arthur almost forgot what exactly Alfred was, just then Maria emerged from the front desk lunch in hand and plopped down next to Kiku at the table, she then turned her attention to Arthur.

"Are you going to keep it?"

"K-keep it?"

"Yeah. Yesterday was the first time you've ever taken a day off, so you must really feel for this dog. You didn't even try to bring it back to the clinic for a check up and you never called, not once yesterday, to see how we were doing."

Really? Well, it had been a long day yesterday and Arthur certainly couldn't tell his co-workers he was busy supervising a newly transformed wolf, "I apologize. I had to keep an eye on the poor thing all day yesterday to make sure he was recovering properly. I didn't want to risk moving him too much and I doubt we'd be able to fit him in a cage here, he's too big."

"What breed is it?" asked Kiku then Maria asked "Can we see it?"

"W-well, I'm not sure of the breed exactly...and..uh...I'm not sure being around strangers is good for him at the moment." Arthur answered nervously, wishing his two co-workers would just eat their lunch and stop asking these hard to answer questions.

While Arthur was being interrogated, Alfred had wandered off to the forested areas of the place, following his own scent the best he could to trace it back to where Arthur had first found him. Maybe he could find out more if he came back to the place the curse was first casted. The area revealed nothing new to him other than it had been a nasty fight with all the dried blood that spattered the grass and trees, it smelled tainted as well, no wonder the animals avoided this particular area. Alfred's stomach growled, feeling hungry, he brushed himself off and decided to have a little snack to reward himself for his hard work. Of course little meant a lot and Alfred had sniffed his way back to the McDonalds they'd came by yesterday. Alfred barely noticed people staring as he ate burger after burger, thoroughly enjoying his fries and coke, which he thought to have been the best human discovery he ever made. He was still pissed off at being cursed, but honestly? It's not looking to be so bad, especially if he got to eat such good food. Arthur had left some money for him in case he wanted to go out, so he fished out some dollars and paid for the meal, not bothering to count and wandered back out. What should he do now? Alfred didn't really feel like going back to the apartment but he didn't have anymore money either, and Arthur told him he couldn't eat or go anywhere to far without some cash. Maybe he shouldn't have spent it all on burgers. With nothing left to do, Alfred walked back to the apartment.

Where was it? He was sure he had put it in his pocket. Right? Arthur was so gonna kill him! Not even 24 hours had gone by since Arthur had given him the key to the apartment and he had lost it, effectively locking himself out. Now what? Alfred thought hard, then he got a brilliant idea! He could go see Arthur! He had his scent so he should be easy to find, and he could just wait for the man to finish work before heading home together! That way, he'd get to see Arthur earlier and not have to worry about telling the brit that he locked himself out and lost the key! Great idea! And with a self-triumphant grin, Alfred bounded off to track down where Arthur's work place was.

* * *

A/N: Silly Alfred! Just letting you know that Maria is Fanon Philippines. It's a magical story that involves faeries, so of course I'd put a Philippines character in. Lot's of people prefer the Philippines to be a boy, but I personally think a girl would be better, we are after all called "Pearl of the Orient", would awkward to describe that about a dude. XP But fanon is fanon.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: YAY! I updated! Sorry I was gone so long, inspiration is hard to find. But it's great when you do coz now I have a new chapter AND a new story! Check out "Alfie & Iggy". Now Enjoy!

* * *

Sometime after lunch, the trio's most regular customer, much to Arthur's chagrin, came in carrying his luxurious long haired cat.

"Bonjour mes amis!" greeted a tall man with pale blue eyes and long blonde hair tied back with a ribbon. "How wonderful to see you all again, especially you mon petit lapin." Directing his gaze upon the now annoyed doctor.

"Fuck off Francis." replied Arthur with as much nonchalance as he could manage. The frog had been his friend since he had moved here and though a bit put off at first, Arthur had gotten used to him along with his incessant flirting toward the English man despite his continuous efforts to thwart him.

"How rude of you ma cheri! And here I've come bearing gifts." said Francis as he approached Arthur and whipped out a rose. Arthur looked at him disdainfully, plucked the rose out of the frenchman's hand and set it down gently on the counter. Just because he didn't particularly liked the man didn't mean he had to kill the innocent flower.

"Thank you frog now what can I do for you?"

"Ahh yes, my darling is in need of some pampering as her hair and claws have been getting long but she has also been very lethargic lately."

"I'll give her a once over and have Maria do the usual grooming then, will that be all?" Arthur knew it was rude to speak to one's customer that way, but this was Francis and he knows the frog is fine, and that he could care less.

"Not quite, how are you Arthur?" Arthur looked at the man suspiciously and found it a bit discomforting to see genuine curiosity and...concern?..on his face.

"I'm doing fine as usual, you know that."

"You know what I mean."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh for-! When was the last time you'd gone out? Had fun? Went for a roll in the sheets?"

Arthur spluttered, feeling an angry blush rising, "I beg you pardon, but unlike you, I have no interest in casual flings when I could be saving lives!"

Francis sighed, both tired and sad for the shorter blonde, "Rosbif, all I'm saying is that you need some time off. You barely do anything but work these days."

"Not true. I took a day off just yesterday."

The frenchman quirked an eyebrow at that. "Really now? And what brought on this change, hm?"

"Nothing that concerns you twat. Now, if there is nothing else, I am a busy man." said Arthur, eyeing the frivolous man with as much venom as he could muster from his gaze.

"Oui, Oui, I leave my darling in your capable hands and shall come by later to pick her up." Then, before Arthur had time to complain, Francis grabbed a hand and kissed it swiftly, "Au revoir cheri. Perhaps we can spend your next day off together non?"

"Fucking frog!" Arthur retracted his hand, quickly sanitizing it with the bottle conveniently next to him as Francis exits with a wink and that annoyingly cliched laugh of his.

Arthur rolls his eyes in annoyance, how the two of them became friends and managed to stay friends was beyond him.

Outside the clinic however, unbeknownst to the people inside, a young blonde man was looking through a window and watching every interaction with growing irritation. Alfred had followed Arthur's scent to this place and he could hear and smell the animals inside that told him this place was one of healing. He was happy to find that Arthur helped animals for a living and was briskly making his way to the entrance until he spotted another man enter and was alerted to the sudden changed of Arthur's scent. So Alfred crept by a window and watched as he picked up on Arthur's annoyance at the other, but what got the young wolf's attention was that underneath the irritation, Alfred could smell something akin to fondness. It made him feel a tight knot in his stomach which began to heat up upon seeing the stranger hand Arthur a rose, and Alfred's brow furrowed when Arthur accepted it with care. Who was that guy? Why is he giving Arthur flowers? He didn't like this man, feeling him a threat over Arthur's affections. He continued to watch the two as they talked for a while, curious as to what the man said to make Arthur's cheeks color. He felt a flicker of irritation and...something else when the man licked Arthur's hand. Alfred felt angry now and was considering confronting the other male until he saw Arthur retract his hand, cleaning it with something as he shouted at the other. The wolf perked up at this, taking it as a sign that although the man seemed to like Arthur a lot, the same could not be said for the other. But Alfred still found he didn't like seeing someone touching Arthur and proceeded to the entrance.

After handing to Maria Francis' cat with the usual grooming instruction, Arthur was to head to the back to check on some of the pet's IV fluids when he heard the door open. He turned to greet the customer,

"Good Afternoon, what may we-GAK!" yelped the blonde as he received a body slam of a hug with an arm quickly wrapping tight around him.

"W-what are you-?"

"Hey Artie!"  
"Alfred?!" Arthur was more than surprised to find Alfred in his work place, trying to turn his head to look at the other. "What on earth are you doing here?! How'd you even know where I work?!"

"I told you I have your scent, I always know where you are!" Still hugging the small brit, Alfred found that he really liked how he fit his now human arms so well.

"W-well that's great and all but..ugh..Alfred...I can't..breathe.." said Arthur as he struggled to catch air while trying not to be crushed in a bear hug.

"Oh! Sorry!" Alfred let go of the other allowing him to gulp down some air before he spoke,

"So what are you doing here? Did you do what I asked?"

"Sure but uhh..heh...I got bored after a few chapters of the book," said Alfred with a grin as Arthur looked with scrutiny, "and I missed you." Arthur's face(and heart) softened after that.

"Alfred..." Arthur sighed. "You can't just come in here disrupting my work, and besides, we spent all day together yesterday. And we've just met, how can you say you've missed me?"

Alfred thought on this for a moment. True, they met just over a day ago but as Alfred looked at Arthur looking at him with those big green eyes, he couldn't help but feel a closeness to the man. Alfred smiled, "Not really sure why but I like you a lot Artie, so I miss you."

Arthur blushed a bit, then a cough was heard behind him and he looked to see his two assistants watching their interactions with curious and amused faces.

"Oh. Uh..." Bollocks! How much did they hear?! How do I explain my day off?! "..this is..you see-", but before Arthur could attempt to explain anything, Alfred walked past him and simply introduced himself to the two.

"Hey! I'm Alfred, nice to meet ya!" grinning wide and extending a hand out as a greeting, the two assistants look startled but Maria smiled first and took Alfred's hand.

"Good to meet you too, I'm Maria." She was a petite young woman with rich brown skin and dark brown hair pinned to the side with a 3 flower barrette.

"Man Arthur, you didn't tell me some of your Faerie friends work for you too!"

...

"What?"

Alfred turned to see Maria freeze and she seemed to pale a bit, then he turned to look at Arthur who just seemed confused.

"Oh! Uh. Oops, sorry." Alfred apologized to the still shocked Maria, "I thought that since Arthur told me he had Faerie friends, I assumed he knew about you. Sorry."

The apology seems to have shaken the woman from her shock and she sighed but looked up with a small smile, "It's okay, but I'm surprised you can see through my glamour when Arthur can't."

"Maria?" Arthur approached his long time worker with curiosity. "You're-?"

Maria smiled, "Yeah, I'm a Faerie. More specifically, a nymph."

"Oh, and I didn't see through anything," Alfred said, correcting her. "I smelled you."

"Excuse me?" said Maria, looking a bit affronted.

"I'm not human either."

"Uhuh. Right."

"It's true, you can just ask Kiku. What's up buddy?" smiling towards the quiet Japanese man.

Another stunned silence as everyone turned to look at Kiku, who seemed to fidget more nervously with each passing minute then looked at Alfred for the first time,

"It is good to see you again Alfred-kun. I did not recognize you, I must apologize." then bowed in greeting.

Alfred laughed, "Hey it's fine, I don't blame you. I look a lot different than when I first met you."

"Alright! Hold it!"

Everyone paused to look at Arthur holding up his one hand while the other rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

"I think we all seem to have a few things to say, so let's move to the break room for some tea."

"But the clinic?"

"I'll put up a sign, they can just call for us when they come in. Now, I believe there is much to discuss."

And with that, Arthur ushered them all off to the break room, making sure to leave a sign on the counter.

* * *

 ** _Staff busy, kindly wait and we will be with you shortly._**

* * *

Sitting around a table in the break room, Arthur busied himself with a cup of tea as he listed to Alfred and Kiku catch up with each other, letting his thoughts wander. Maria is fae? How could I not have known? And what is Kiku? How does he know Alfred? Arthur turned back to see Alfred laughing heartily and Kiku chuckling. He felt a prickling in his heart and a churning in the pit of his stomach. He walked back to the table, tea in hand, and settled next to Alfred.

"Alright, I believe it's time for truths. Who'd like to start?"

Maria raised her hand, "I guess I will." Everyone turned to pay attention.

"I'm a Faerie, a mountain nymph. I left my home a long time ago for a human and haven't left since. Okay, done."

"Whoah whoah, that's it?!" Alfred asked incredulously, "You gotta give a little more! We're sharing here."

Ignoring Alfred's outburst, Arthur asked Maria, "How come I couldn't see you? I had the sight, but you look completely human to me."

"Well, normally a glamour would do but as you said, you have the sight, so I went to a witch and she gave me this." explained the nymph as she showed them her necklace. It was simple silver chain with a small pearl pendant that had gold etchings on it, which looked to be glyphs and runes.

"This completely concealed my appearance from you but it does not hide my energy or scent from those who can sense it. Like Kiku and apparently, Alfred."

Arthur was reeling. A witch. Faeries he can handle, he's known and seen them all his life. He's just met a were-Dire wolf turned human, which he is handling quite well, but...a witch? Sure he used to belong to an occult club back in his school days but none of his spells worked. Arthur's almost scare to find out what Kiku is.

As Arthur took in this information, Alfred decided to go ahead with his story.

"Well, like I said, I could smell you coz I'm not human. I'm a Dire wolf."

Maria's eyes went wide at that. "A Dire wolf? But...I thought you were all..."

"Extinct? Not quite. Traveling as a pack just makes us easier to find, so majority go off alone. Smaller packs do still exist though."

"So how are you human?"

"I ran into one of your friends in the woods. She was a real nut job! She hit me with a spell before I could dodge, I managed to lose her before I blacked out. Next thing I knew, I was with Arthur." explained Alfred, smiling towards the end at the memory of meeting the Brit.

Arthur coughed, "Yes, remember when I called about an injured dog?"

"So that was Alfred!" exclaimed Maria.

"Then your day off yesterday means you and Alfred-san were together, yes?" asked Kiku, in his usual poker face, though you could swear there was a hint of a smile on his lips.

"Yes, well I-" started Arthur but Alfred cut him off.

"We had so much fun! Artie took us to the park, I got to eat CHOCOLATE! And then at that McDonald's place! Human food is awesome!"

"Git! Don't interrupt when someone is talking!"

Kiku visibly smiled now, "I am glad you have found a new friend Alfred-kun. I used to worry sometimes."

Alfred laughed quietly, "Thanks but I was worried over you dude!"

"Can someone please explain?" inquired Arthur, "Yeah! How do you two know each other?" added Maria.

Alfred was about to start when Kiku held up his hand, "Please, let me."

"First of all, I am a Kitsune or what you might call a fox-spirit. I met Alfred-kun about three years ago. I was asleep in my den when I heard barking, I smelled horses and dogs. It seemed there was a hunting party coming through and they had lost sight of their fox, the dog's picked up my scent instead so I ran. it had started raining and I was getting tired when I ran right into one of their traps. The dogs were coming, along with their humans, and I was trapped and in pain. I had nowhere to go."

Arthur and Maria listened to Kiku's story with rapt attention, waiting in bated breath. Neither knew their quiet friend had gone through something so terrifying. Alfred was listening, but he wasn't looking at Kiku as he was mostly remembering that day in his own memory. They paid attention as Kiku continued.

"I was tired, afraid and hurt. I didn;t see a way out, until-"

"Until I showed up and rescued you like the hero I am!" interrupted Alfred with an all glory grin on his face, failing to notice two impatient faces glaring at him. But Kiku merely chuckled.

"Yes, that was when Alfred-kun had showed up. He was hunting nearby when he smelled my blood and probably heard when I cried out fin pain. He was able to open the trap but I could not walk, so he carried me over his back."

"I guess I took too long, coz you blacked out." continued Alfred, "You lost a lot of blood."

"Yes, but you had saved me. And let me stay in your den until I was fully healed." smiled Kiku gratefully.

Alfred rubbed his neck in embarrassment, "Glad I could help."

At that moment, the bell in front rang, prompting Arthur to get up and see to the customer and leaving the three to converse.

Alfred watched Arthur leave the room, unaware that both Maria and Kiku were watching him. When Arthur left, Kiku reclaimed his friends attention, "Alfred-kun."

"Yeah?" turning to pay attention to Kiku's sudden seriousness.

"You know I have yet to repay you for saving me. You still have not requested anything."

"Oh, well, I didn't really have anything I want then."

"And...now you do?" asked Maria, eyeing the door.

Alfred thought for a moment, "Yeah! Kiku, can you undo this curse?" he asked the Kitsune, competely not understanding Maria's meaning, to which the nymph simply rolled her eyes.

"I am sorry Alfred-kun," said Kiku apologetically, "but I cannot undo such a curse."

"It's okay. S'not that bad really." said Alfred, smiling like he hadn't been cursed at all.

"I don't recognize the magic of the curse on you, but then again I'm not as active in the Faerie community as I used to. You could go see the witch!" suggested Maria just as Arthur came back in the break room looking more haggard than when he had left.

"Of all the stupid things I've ever heard, trying to turn your cat into a vegetarian just bloody pisses me off!" ranted the Brit as he sat back down, "Kiku make sure the poor cat gets the proper nutritions. The poor thing looks about ready to collapse."

"I shall see to it then. Excuse me." said Kiku as he got up and left.

Arthur leaned onto the table on his elbows and exhaled a tired sigh, making Alfred scoot closer, "Hey, you okay?"

"No worries, just a lot to take in today, and seeing that malnourished cat just left me a bit frayed. But enough of that, what did I miss?"

"Maria was just telling me about a witch that could remove this curse."

"Might." said Maria, "She might be able to remove the curse. Or she might not. Depends."

"On what? Who's this witch your talking about?" asked Arthur, suspicious.

"She's the one that gave me my pendant. But I had to give her something in exchange for it."

"What did you give?"

"Not telling." said the nymph, crossing her arms. "But she always asks something in exchange. Her prices are always fair, that's a plus. Just try her out. Here, I'll write down the address."

Maria wrote down an address on a piece of scrap paper and handed it to Arthur, who looked at Alfred in question.

"What do you think? It's your curse, you decide."

"Might as well try right?" Alfred grinned.

Arthur smiled as he tucked the paper into his pants and got up to follow Maria out of the room with Alfred right behind him, "Alright then, but now it's time to get back to work. Why don't you head on back first then Alfred?"

Remembering that he had lost the key that Arthur specifically told him not to lose and not wanting to anger the small brit, Alfred said, "Uh, I can wait here."

"That's not necessary, I'll be busy until later."

"But it's boring all by myself, and I'll just miss you again! I can help out here!"

Arthur blushed at the statement but remained adamant that Alfred should go not stay, otherwise he'll just end up getting distracted.

"You don't have to trouble yourself Alfred, really-"

"You told Kiku over the phone that you need more people to help out right? Well I wanna help out. Beats staying in alone. This way we can go back home together!"

"Well-I-" That was a good argument, Arthur must admit and so concede, "Fine. You can stay,"

Alfred whopped in joy, "but-you must do everything I say. Are we clear?"

"Crystal!" said the wolf as he grinned down at Arthur, happy that he gets to stay.

"Right then, follow me." instructed Arthur, and Alfred followed.

* * *

A/N: Well the story should start to pick up now. I felt it dragged on a bit there but it turned out good. remember to check out my new fic "Alfie & Iggy" it's so cute, you'll get cavities!


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